Canada’s spirits sector is economically significant. Canada produces nearly $2 billion in spirits annually, with about 50 per cent of domestic production tied to U.S. demand. In 2025, Canada exported $948.6 million in spirits to the U.S., accounting for about 93 per cent of the country’s total spirits export value.

The industry also contributes approximately $5.8 billion to Canada’s GDP, supports nearly 48,800 full-time equivalent jobs and generates more than $2.66 billion annually in government tax revenues.

Spirits Canada says it remains hopeful that continued dialogue between the two governments will help identify a constructive path forward, with the shared objective of restoring zero-for-zero, tariff-free trade in spirits and alcoholic beverages. A return to stable, predictable market access would provide much-needed certainty for businesses, workers and consumers on both sides of the border.

The Canadian visit follows Wine Victoria’s inaugural trade program earlier this year and reflects growing confidence in Canada as one of the most promising export markets for Victorian wine. As global wine producers navigate shifting trade dynamics and changing consumer behaviour, Canada continues to demonstrate strong demand for Australian wine, with export growth significantly outpacing many other international markets.

Wine Victoria CEO Stephanie Duboudin will travel to Canada with representatives from Victoria’s wine sector to meet with importers, provincial liquor buyers, retailers, hospitality professionals and wine media. Trade showcases will take place in Toronto on Oct. 15 and Vancouver on Oct. 20, featuring a significantly expanded portfolio of Victorian producers and wines.

“Canada has become a market we believe is worth investing in for the long term,” said Duboudin. “While recent trade conditions have created new opportunities, our focus extends well beyond short-term market shifts. We’re building relationships with Canadian buyers, educators, media and consumers because we believe Victorian wine has a meaningful place in this market. The response we’ve seen so far has reinforced that Canada is a priority growth market for our producers.”

In the 12 months to June 2026, Australian wine exports to Canada increased 13.2 per cent in volume and 19.6 per cent in value. Victoria’s shipments to Canada in the same timeframe rose 5.1 per cent in volume and 27.3 per cent in value, showing Victoria is driving value growth in Australian Exports to Canada.

The evolving Canada-U.S. trade relationship has also reshaped the Canadian beverage alcohol landscape. The removal of most U.S. alcoholic products from provincial distribution and retail systems beginning in 2025 created opportunities for international producers to expand their presence with buyers, retailers and restaurant operators.

For Victorian wineries, however, the opportunity is about more than replacing products from another market. Home to more than 20 wine regions, Victoria produces a diverse range of premium wines, from cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and emerging varieties. Wine Victoria’s Canadian program is designed to help trade professionals better understand that diversity while creating direct commercial connections between Victorian producers and Canadian decision-makers.

Building on early momentum

Wine Victoria made its first dedicated Canadian trade visit in February 2026, introducing Victorian wine to Canadian buyers, sommeliers and media through educational tastings and seminars. The October return marks a significant expansion of that effort. In both Toronto and Vancouver, Wine Victoria will present invitation-only seminars for leading trade and media professionals, followed by larger walk-around receptions featuring wines currently available in Canada alongside producers seeking new distribution and partnership opportunities.

John Szabo MS will lead Toronto’s seminar, while wine writer and educator Kurtis Kolt will lead Vancouver’s session. Rather than focusing exclusively on Victorian wines, each seminar will place the wines within a broader international context through curated tastings designed to explore style, climate, quality positioning and commercial relevance in today’s premium wine market. Participants will have the opportunity to compare Victorian wines alongside peer wines from other global regions, providing a more nuanced understanding of the region’s strengths and distinctiveness. Following each seminar, attendees will be invited to explore a broader selection of Victorian wines and meet representatives from Wine Victoria and participating wineries.

“Canadian buyers are increasingly looking for wines with authenticity, regional character and a compelling story,” said Duboudin. “Being present in the market matters. When buyers can taste widely, they quickly see that Victoria is not a single style or a single region. The diversity, quality and innovation coming out of Victoria are what make these conversations so valuable.”

For Victoria’s wine sector, Canada represents an increasingly important market for long-term growth. Through continued investment in education, trade relationships and market development, Wine Victoria aims to strengthen awareness of Victorian wine while creating new opportunities for producers across the state’s diverse wine regions.

So, the Oakville-based company did something about it. Instead of waiting for the shelves to fill back up, Maverick started doing what any self-respecting whisky lover would do: going straight to the source, buying the barrels and bringing them home.

That mission has grown into BARNBURNER, Maverick’s bourbon, rye and whisky family, now seven bottles deep. It includes proper cask-strength bourbon distilled and aged in Bardstown, Ky., a Canadian-American blend that reportedly ended a small argument in the Maverick tasting room and the original 100 per cent Ontario BARNBURNER whisky that started it all.

Newest to the family: two rye whiskies fresh off the truck from Lawrenceburg, Ind., BARNBURNER Indiana Rye Whisky and BARNBURNER 21 per cent Rye Bourbon. Both were distilled and aged stateside, then hand-selected, finished and bottled by Maverick’s team in Ontario.

“We are not going to pretend the whiskey isn’t American; it is, and a very good one,” said Craig Peters, founder of Maverick Distillery. “What we bring to the bottle is everything that happens after it crosses the border: the blending, the finishing, the bottling, the jobs and admittedly a fair amount of arguing about proof points. Canadians shouldn’t have to give up great bourbon just because of what’s going on politically. So, we go get it ourselves.”

That “just go get it” attitude is a large part of Maverick’s personality. Peters started the company in Oakville in 2009 with the belief that Ontario could make spirits just as good as anywhere else in the world. He then spent the better part of two decades proving it, one category at a time.

What began as a small-batch vodka project grew into TAG No.5 Vodka, widely regarded as Ontario’s No.1 vodka, GINSLINGER Ontario Craft Gin, LUNÁTICO Tequila, CARGO Rum and the entire BARNBURNER bourbon, rye and whisky lineup. Maverick is still independently and proudly Canadian-owned and is still based in Oakville.

“Being a Canadian distillery doesn’t mean Canadians should stop enjoying great products from around the world,” Peters said. “Our job is to find exceptional whisky, bring the barrels home and put as much of the value as we can back into Ontario. Great whisky can come from anywhere. No politics, no borders, it’s just worth pouring.”

The full BARNBURNER lineup, including both new Indiana ryes, is available at select LCBO locations across Ontario and online at MaverickDirect.ca, with free shipping on orders over $150.

The analysis shows that since March 5, when Canadian provinces announced they would no longer carry U.S. spirits products on their store shelves, through the end of April, sales of U.S. spirits in Canada fell by more than 66 per cent and total spirits sales in Canada declined by more than 12 per cent.

“The North American spirits sector is highly interconnected, and the immediate and continued removal of all U.S. spirits products from Canadian shelves is deeply problematic for spirits producers on both sides of the border,” said Cal Bricker, president and CEO of Spirits Canada. “The current disruption demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining open, reciprocal trade relationships that benefit consumers, businesses and government revenues in both nations.”

Several Canadian provinces pulled U.S. spirits from liquor stores following U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 25 per cent American tariff on certain Canadian imports. Though designed as a diplomatic rebuke, the policy triggered significant economic repercussions across Canada’s spirits sector. The analysis cited several key impacts since removing U.S. spirits products. From early March through the end of April:

• U.S. spirits sales declined 66.3 per cent
• Canadian spirits sales declined 6.3 per cent
• Other imported spirits sales declined 8.2 per cent
• Total spirits sales declined 12.8 per cent

In March, total spirits fell sharply by 20.6 per cent year-over-year following the immediate delisting of U.S. products. In April, Canadian spirits sales increased 3.6 per cent and other imported spirits sales rose 3.7 per cent, but the gains did not compensate for the significant losses from the U.S. product removal.

The overall spirits category remained down 3.3 per cent year-over-year in April, a decline of $13.9 million from $419.4 million to $405.5 million, demonstrating that substitute products cannot fully replace the market demand previously filled by U.S. spirits. Additionally, the replacement products tended to be lower-margin offerings, significantly impacting the profitability of the Canadian spirits sector.

Ontario, Canada’s largest spirits market, bore a disproportionate share of the impact with U.S. spirits sales plunging 80 per cent since removing the products in the province. Total spirits sales in Ontario were down 20 per cent, including a 12.8 per cent decline in Canadian products and 14.1 per cent decline in non-U.S. products.

“For decades, Canada and the U.S. have been the model of fair and reciprocal trade for spirits, and both the U.S. and Canadian hospitality industries have flourished as a result,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “It’s time to put American spirits back on the shelves throughout Canada. This data makes clear that the decision by Canadian provinces to pull American spirits products off their store shelves is not only harming American distillers, but it’s needlessly reducing revenues for the provinces and hurting Canadian consumers and hospitality businesses.”

Spirits Canada and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. are working together to urge their respective governments to negotiate an agreement that continues to foster a thriving spirits industry between the two countries through permanent zero-for-zero tariffs on spirits products.